Nasty Dirty Hypocrite
by theMotherQuirk
Summary: That's right, readers: Inuyasha's got some competition. Hehehe...R&R. Hiaus. Boooo.
1. Chapter 1

She's beautiful, of course.

That's why he keeps going back.

That's surely the only reason: She IS, after all, evil in every other way, boring and dead, and made of _clay and dust. _

_If they went to bathe together she would melt_. That thought brought a small, bitter smile to her face.

Maybe she could kiss really well and they…

Urrg. Way too gross (not to mention heartbreaking) to think about.

Kagome readjusted herself in the tree, gripping the branches firmly, careful not to fall, and once she had settled, resumed her melancholic thoughts:

She supposed, if this were modern times, if this was a normal situation, that Inuyasha would be considered her boyfriend, and Kikyo the "homewrecker". But this wasn't modern times, and the situation was anything but normal.

She glanced at the setting sun, hoping for a flash of red or white in the sky, leaping through the forest back to her.

_Correction_, she grimaced, _not back to me. Back to jewel hunting. _

Ugh. How depressing was it that she couldn't even believe that Inuyasha wanted to come home to her? She must really have low self-esteem…

But then again, the whole reason he left in the FIRST place was because his ex-girlfriend was back in town.

Kikyo.

Stupid Kikyo.

Stupid annoying Kikyo.

Stupid annoying dead beautiful evil KIKYO.

At least KAGOME was alive. At least KAGOME was warm. And at least KAGOME wouldn't dissolve in the rain.

_Haha. Another clay-pot joke. _

Kagome laughed out loud as she jumped to the ground and, with one last hopeful glance toward the horizon, walked back to the hut. She was greeted by Sango the Demon Slayer and Miroku the Perverted Monk.

"KAGOME!" Shippo screeched, and launched himself at her, landing on her shoulder.

"Hello, Shippo." Kagome winced: Her voice was unusually soft and sad. She hated it.

"Has Inuyasha-teme come back yet?"

"Shippo, don't call him that." Kagome scolded, but inside her mind she was nodding vigorously in agreement.

"Well, he made you sad!" Shippo protested, pouting.

"Yeah."

"Kikyo is not even that nice." Shippo sighed. "I wish he would stop going to her."

Kagome smiled slightly, mumbling, "So do I", and sat down next to Sango.

The demon exterminator eyed her friend before saying, "You know, I think we need a trip to the hot springs." It was a feeble attempt to ease the girl's worry and hurt, Sango knew, but she at least could try.

Kagome turned to look at Sango. "But no one will be there to guard us from Miroku." She cast a glare toward the lecherous monk.

The pervert's protests filled the room.

"And anyway," she continued, "I don't really feel like taking a bath tonight. I'm clean enough."

Now Sango's eyes widened, and her jaw dropped. Had Kagome, the modern-time girl who always insisted that cleanliness was key, the girl who couldn't sleep when her hair was dirty…Did she really just say she was "clean enough"?

Stupid Inuyasha. He had really hurt her this time. How much more could the poor girl take?

Kagome answered Sango's question by noticeably choking back a sob, excusing herself, and then huffing back out the door, Shippo trailing behind.

"But Kagomeeeeee!" Shippo whined, nervously looking over his shoulder as they ventured deeper and deeper into the pitch black forest.

Kagome barely noticed he was there, however, and continued walking. Where? She didn't know. Maybe she could go kill a little rabbit. That might help ease her anger.

_Holy crap. _Kagome realized with a start. _I'm ANGRY. And…slightly murderous… _

All this time she thought she was sad.

She confused herself sometimes.

_Maybe that's why Inuyasha likes Kikyo more. Because she's so simple. _

It was both an insulting bash at the dead priestess and a stabbing knife to Kagome's pride.

Did she really make things so difficult? Or maybe it was...

GAH. Stupid internal conflict, making everything so hard.

Kagome shook her head and sat down, hard, on a log.

It took her a while to notice that Shippo was no longer attempting to comfort her, or whining, or squeaking, or whatever it was that he had followed her out there to do.

"Shippo?" She called.

"Over here!" His tiny voice echoed through the forest.

"Shippo?" She rose from her seat and followed his voice. "Where are you?"

"Here!!!" He yelled again, this time louder.

"What is it?" She demanded as he came into view.

And then, Kagome gasped, clutching her heart...

And the world stopped spinning.


	2. Chapter 2

The world stopped spinning.

Kagome heaved a deep breath and staggered against a tree, considering the possibility of whether or not this was a dream.

Because this was definitely the sexiest dream she had EVER had.

For lying sprawled on the ground in the middle of a tiny forest clearing, hard, chiseled chest moving up and down at an alarmingly slow rate was the most gorgeous hunk of man that she had ever seen.

She stumbled closer to where he lay and dropped clumsily down to her knees, careful not to touch him.

_Maybe he's a God. Or a mirage… _She thought, a bit dazed by his appearance.

Nothing THIS good looking could possibly be real.

His thick light brown hair was disheveled, hanging around his face. His eyes, though closed, were framed by dark lashes. His lips, full, light pink. Utterly kissable.

_Whoaa_! Kagome shook her head to be rid of her slightly immoral thoughts.

"Uhh…Kagome…?" Shippo lightly tapped her on the shoulder.

"Yes, Shippo?" She murmured, still entranced by the young man lying before them.

"…Shouldn't we be finding out what's wrong with him?"

Oh, right. "Um…excuse me?" Kagome put her hand to his shoulder. Her touch instantly woke him up.

And then she gasped again, because he stared at her with the deepest green eyes she had ever seen.

"Ma'am…Where am I?" He mumbled, his voice velvet soft.

"Uhhh…" _Think Kagome think! What are the words??? _"Uhm…Haha, you…you're in the forest. I…ehm…We, meaning, Shippo…and…Kagome, who is me….Er, we found you lying here."

"Oh, did you?" He looked bewildered for a moment, and then realization spread across his handsome face. "I see. Well, do you mind taking me back to your village? I'm afraid I don't remember what's happened, but you see, I'm quite hungry, what with having not eaten in days."

Kagome nodded, eager to please, and helped him up. In truth, she would've prodded and already irritated demon if he'd asked her to. They began walking out of the woods.

"Fair maiden, you're name is…Kagome, am I correct?"

"Y-yeah. I mean, yes. And…what about you?"

"Yukio…And I've seem to have forgotten my last name." He smiled a smile that would've melted even Kikyo's clay heart. Wait, speaking of Kikyo…

_Where __**is**__ Inuyasha? _

In her sudden, somewhat startling thought, she tripped over a root. But instead of crashing to the ground she was caught in Yukio's sturdy, well-toned arms. They encircled her waist and held her close to his chest. She could hear his heartbeat, slow and steady.

_Inuyasha who? _

"Um…Th-thank you." Kagome stuttered, reluctantly freeing herself and walking on ahead to the hut.

They received strange looks when they entered, to which Kagome explained,

"This is Yukio-san. Shippo and I found him unconscious in the woods. He doesn't remember much. And he hasn't eaten in days."

Sango nodded and silently handed the young man a bowl of food, but Miroku looked a bit disgruntled.

"Where's Inuyasha?" He asked, fiddling somewhat nervously with his robe.

"Um…" It took Kagome a few seconds to respond, what with her brain not knowing anything about this Inuyasha person and all. "He…He's still with…Kikyo."

Oh right. Now she remembered: She was in love with Inuyasha. And he was off with his dead lover.

Great.

"Well, he should be back anytime now." Miroku assured her, assuming Kagome's break in voice was from emotional pain and not completely forgetting about her one true love.

_What's going on…? _The young miko tried to think. It was hard, like all her thoughts and memories were semi-erased, there but just barely.

But then Yukio smiled at her with his endless green eyes and she forgot (_forget! Why do I keep forgetting??_) all about her worries.

Soon everyone fell asleep, including Kagome. Suddenly she was so tired. Yukio had bid her goodnight and went to sleep on the opposite side of the room, graciously thanking everyone for letting him stay the night.

However, she was soon awoken by a rough hand brushing her forehead.

_Oh, Yukio…_

It was good thing she had only thought that and not said it aloud, because the man brushing the hair out of her face was certainly not Yukio.

She opened her eyes, "Inuyasha…!" Kagome whispered in surprise, grasping his hand tightly. "You're okay!"

"Ch…Sorry for waking you. Just making sure you're okay. Go back to sleep." The hanyou attempted a harsh tone, but failed miserably.

Kagome just nodded and sleepily shook her head, rolling on her side. She heard Inuyasha take a seat right next to her, and then everything went black.


	3. Chapter 3

Suckiest chapter if there ever was one...

* * *

Kukuku...

* * *

"KAGOME!" A gruff voice shook the girl out of her sweet, sweet dreams, which had included Yukio and a vat of caramel. 

Said girl jerked up and came to face to face with a very irate, albeit handsome, half demon. His fangs were inches from her mouth, his golden eyes enraged. But, unsettlingly, his closeness didn't do anything to Kagome except make her cringe from his morning breath.

"What?" She asked, holding her nose.

"Who is _this_?!" He demanded, pointing a claw towards Yukio, who was standing in the corner. Yukio shrugged his shoulders and mouthed the words "he's crazy!" to Kagome, who in turn laughed and stood up. She danced her way to the young man, asking how he slept.

Inuyasha gaped motionlessly at the girl for a moment, but then crossed his arms and_ahemed _loudly.

"Oh." Kagome, who had been staring deeply into Yukio's endlessly green eyes, snapped to attention. "Oh, Inuyasha, right. This is Yukio. He doesn't remember his last name. He's staying with us for awhile."

"Yes, I hope that is alright." His velvet voice filled the room. He placed a hand on Kagome's shoulder, whispered something in her ear that made her laugh, and they left.

The silver haired hanyou's mouth was wide open. A fly flew in and then buzzed back out before he fully comprehended what had just happened. Had Kagome just…Just left him? With that stupid idiot Yukio? Who was Yukio anyway?

_I want some answers._

He stalked outside and sniffed out Miroku, who, undoubtedly, was stroking Sango's rump.

"Hey Miroku." Inuyasha called.

Sango turned to him and said politely, "One second, Inuyasha," before slapping Miroku so hard he fell to the earth.

"DO NOT DO THAT AGAIN!" She yelled, and then stomped off.

Miroku rubbed his cheek, but grinned.

"Why do you always do that?" Inuyasha inquired, joining his friend on the ground.

"She loves it." Miroku responded, still gently massaging the spot where her hand had made contact with his face.

Inuyasha snorted, "Yeah, that's why she smacks you every time you do."

"She only does that because she wants me to thinks she doesn't like it." He responded sensibly.

"But she doesn't like it."

"She only wants me to think that."

"So why does she slap you?"

Miroku chortled. "Inuyasha, Inuyasha, Inuyasha, my poor delusional friend. A woman is not as straight forward as a man is."

"Okay."

"And so that means she has hidden feelings."

"Right."

"Thus, when she covers up something she is violent. Granted, we males have shorter life spans because of them, but it's worth it to do something she loves."

"…What?"

"So tell me, Inuyasha, why did you seek me out today?"

Inuyasha blinked. _Wait, what?_ "Can't a guy just hang out with another guy without wanting advice?"

"No."

"Oh."

The hanyou took a deep breath and prepared to explain, "You know the guy Yukio he was here last night he spent the night in the cabin WITH KAGOME AND I WASN'T THERE and then he said something behind my back to Kags and then she left with him out of the cabin and she seems to like him."

"Yukio." Miroku nodded seriously. "There is something slightly suspicious about him, I agree. However, Inuyasha, you realize that you were with Kikyo last night. It would be awfully hypocritical of you to blame Kagome for being hospitable to a lost young man while you were off cheating on her with your dead lover."

Oh. Ouch. Choosing to ignore that last statement, Inuyasha barreled on.

"Yeah, but Kagome doesn't act like that, all flirty with guys. There's something wrong with her."

"Or maybe she is acting completely right. Remember what I said about women, Inuyasha."

He struggled to remember, answering hesitantly, "…They cover up…true feelings?"

Miroku led him on, "Not only that, but they also…?"

"…Make you think something that…"

"Isn't really true, correct. And so, what can we conclude about Lady Kagome's behavior?"

Inuyasha's little doggy head hurt from all of this intellectual womany thinking, but he carried on. "She's being all weird with Yukio because…"

Miroku sighed. "Because she wants you to want her. And so if she pretends to want someone else, that will make her all the more wantable."

"…Sure."

"Right Inuyasha, so what do we do about it?"

"I...Eh…I never let Kagome out of my sight?"

Miroku made a wild gesture with his hands, "That's it! Finally, you've got it!"

Inuyasha grinned. "OH! That makes perfect sense. You know Miroku, you're really good with this kind of stuff."

"I know."

And so the two men walked off together, basking in their complete and total understanding of the female mind.

Meanwhile…

* * *

A/N:

OOC


	4. Chapter 4

Kagome swirled her feet daintily through the placid pool of water, causing small ripples to mar the still surface. Her lips upturned slightly at the corners as she thought of the day's events. Today was unquestionably THE greatest day of her life.

She and Yukio had been hiking through the woods all day. As soon as they had exited the hut (_and abandoned Inuyasha_, she thought, with far less guilt than she would have thought possible), he had pulled her aside and whispered in her ear, telling her all about his favorite spot in the world, a magical, crystal clear pond that sat unperturbed at the end of the forest.

"It's the most beautiful thing," he promised, taking her hand.

"Yes, it is," she had murmured (much to her own embarrassment) gazing at Yukio.

"Just like you," he squeezed her hand tightly as they traveled more deeply through the trees.

Kagome almost swooned.

But then, for a split second, something had itched in the back of her mind. _If Yukio can't remember anything, how does he remember the pond? _But she had quickly dismissed the thought, as she had more distressing matters at hand. _Things are moving really fast. Maybe…too fast? When did we first meet? A week ago? No…no. It was…yesterday? When…Inu…Inuyata? No, Inuyasha. When he was…gone? Who was gone...where? And why? What? _

She stumbled again, and he caught her. "Clumsy, aren't we?" Yukio's silky smooth voice overwhelmed her very thought process.

"A l-little b-bit," Kagome had stuttered.

"Well, of course. Why should a maiden as beautiful as you have to _walk _anywhere?" He scoffed at the very idea. "Here, m'lady," and with that, he scooped her in his arms as if she weighed nothing.

Kagome was used to being carried, but usually it was by people who weren't…well…people. Usually it was by half-demons (_Inuyasha, _she reminded herself firmly) or even by full demons. Never by humans, which she was fairly certain Yukio was. It flattered her that he could lift her with such ease, made her feel pretty and small.

He trekked the rest of the way through the woods, cradling Kagome against his chest. Normally she would have put up a fuss, but she was too distracted by the fact that Yukio had neglected to wear a shirt and his chiseled, godlike chest was but a few inches away from her cheek.

All too soon, he set her down on the ground and, with a flourish of his incredibly well built, muscular, strong, toned, tanned, bare arms (Kagome hurriedly wiped away the drool that had accidentally spilled out of her mouth), he presented the pond. And he was right. It truly was the most beautiful thing.

In the middle of a clearing the pond lay quietly, not a hint of motion to obscure the fragile beauty. Its glasslike surface reflected the sunlight, casing an ethereal radiance that made everything shimmer with a golden glow. Adorned along the edges of the pond were flowers, the likes of which Kagome had never laid eyes on before. Every petal of each individual flower was a different color, making it appear as if a rainbow encircled the body of water. The jade-green grass underneath her feet felt luxuriously plush.

Yukio tugged her gently out of the spell she seemed to be in and led her to a glittering boulder also seated right next to the pond. Upon closer inspection, Kagome had found that embedded in the rock were thousands of tiny diamonds.

She had been reluctant to sit on such rare, beautiful rock, but Yuko had insisted, and when she refused, he had simply picked her up and plunked her down.

So now she sat there. Yukio had gone off to "surprise her", as he had put it. She was a tad nervous, but excited. Yukio seemed like a dream, one that she would soon wake up from.

Yes, indeed, today was very, _very_ good.

Kagome sighed contentedly. Life was perfect. Life with Yukio was perfect. Life with Yukio at this place was perfect. She was glad she would never have to leave…

_Wait_, she shook her head violently. _Wait a second…_What was she thinking? She didn't know anymore. She was supposed to be somewhere else, with another person. She knew that much. A dogman? She couldn't love a dog. Could she? And of course she wanted to leave. _I just met Yukio. _

She realized, with a start, that she was slightly frightened. _What is going on? _She wasn't frightened of Yukio, of course. Not at all. But at her hazy, dazed state of mind, at her sudden inability to think straight? Yes. She was terribly afraid.

"Kagome!" Yukio's voice filled her ears, and before she knew it, she didn't know anything.

"You're back!" Glee and relief were painfully evident in her tone.

The man slid next to her and slipped an arm around her shoulder. Internally, Kagome squealed with girlish delight.

"Look." He grabbed her hand and lightly placed a flower in her palm. "They were Mother's favorite."

_Of course he'd remember his own mother, _Kagome justified to herself when the question of his memory came up.

The flower Kagome was now holding was crimson, except for the tips of the petals, which were ivory. The smell wafted to her nose and she relished in it. It smelled of cinnamon and ginger and tangerine…it was so wonderful. Yukio was so wonderful. She loved…

_I love Inuyasha! _a small part of her screeched silently. _I do not love Yukio! _

_Yet. _Another, larger part, said.

"Yukio?" Kagome attempted a smile. She didn't want him to see the battle raging within her.

"Yes, love?" He purred.

Kagome faltered, but then carried on. "It's getting awfully late, don't you think? Maybe we should head home."

Yukio glanced at the setting sun, his face revealing a fleeting look of disappointment. But then he turned and smiled at her. "Of course, Kagome. You're right."

They were quiet on the walk home. She wasn't sure what Yukio's reason was, but she was attempting to not forget the one man she would ever, ever, ever love. Kagome sighed, trying to picture the molten topaz of his eyes, the sincerity of the few smiles he gave, the warmth of his embraces. _Inuyasha…_

**A/N**: Holy freaking mother of crappppp!

Last time I updated was OCTOBER OF LAST YEAR! Eeeesh I'm sooooo sorry! Ugh. I'm slamming my face into the wall, just so you know. UGHHH. Please please please forgive me. There are probably many problems with this chapter, so I apologize even more!

Okay, also...As you may have noticed, my writing style has changed drastically over the year. I'm very sorry if anyone doesn't it like it. I tried reverting back to my old style, but I just couldn't do it. So. Yeah. Again, I'm really sorry for the ridiculously long wait. If anyone is still reading this, that is.


	5. Chapter 5

Inuyasha paced impatiently at the edge of the forest, glaring into the trees. The only thing preventing him from following Kagome's scent was Miroku.

_"Give her time to miss you, Inuyasha," he had advised, nodding his head wisely. _

_"But you just said to not let her out of my sight!" _

_"Let that commence after she wishes to be in your sight." _

_"…Okay…" _

He wasn't really sure Miroku knew what he was talking about, but Inuyasha had even less of a clue than the perverted monk did.

At first, Inuyasha thought Kagome was being all girly and cute with Yukio because she was trying to get back at him. _After all, _he admitted with a cringe, _I _was_ gone with Kikyo for a long time. _

But it wasn't as if he and Kikyo had…done anything. They had just talked. Kikyo had even threatened him several times. Okay, yes, they had hugged twice. No big deal.

Inuyasha still wasn't sure how he felt about Kikyo. He loved her. And he hated her. And he desired her. And she disgusted him. Kikyo spun her web and he was the fly who was always caught, but then managed to escape again. It was tainted affection. A very real illusion.

But with Kagome it was so much different. There was laughter, there was joy. She made his chest feel light, his heart warm. Kagome made him want to smile forever, to cry tears of happiness. She was like…like…like the sun to him. He…loved Kagome. He really, truly did. Kagome was truth. She was here, she was now. She was…she was life. His life.

Kagome wouldn't flirt with someone else just to make him jealous, though. She just wasn't like that. And then, that's when Inuyasha began thinking the impossible. _Maybe she actually…likes the jerk! _

He growled at the idea. Of course not. She had sworn she would never leave him. Right?

Suddenly there was a shift in the air. He inhaled strawberries and rose petals and automatically knew she was near.

"Inuyasha!" She called, running out of the woods. Inuyasha felt immensely glad to see her, and was even about to tell her so, when Yukio loped into view.

Instantly, the hanyou was filled with a resentment so great it made him cringe. Jealousy, too, even though he'd never admit it.

Yukio had just spent the day with Kagome in _privacy_. They had gone who-knows-where and done who-knows-what together. Inuyasha would have preferred it to be Koga. Seriously.

"Where have you been?" He demanded.

Kagome cleared her throat and grinned up at him sheepishly, almost apologetically, "Yukio showed me his pond."

Oh. Gods. "WHAT?!" Inuyasha exploded, pulling Tessaiga out of its sheath. "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU SHOWED KAGOME-! YOU DISGUSTING PIECE OF FILTH!"

He charged the stupid brown haired jerk, swinging his sword wildly. Why would Kagome admit that to him? And use such a lame innuendo, at that?

The miko's cheeks colored. "Oh no no no no nononono! Inuyasha, get your mind out of the gutter, for goodness sake! How do you even get…_that_…out of pond?"

Inuyasha felt his own face heat up, and he shoved the weapon back into place. "Well…well…It's your fault!" He stuttered, his embarrassment quickly turning into anger. "What am I supposed to think?! You've been gone all day with this _stranger_!"

"I went through a hike in the woods with Yukio and then we sat down by a pond," Kagome heatedly explained, her hands clenching into tiny fists.

"And you didn't think to tell anyone where you were going?!"

"It's no one's business where I go or WHO I GO WITH!"

"It is too!"

"Is not!"

"It's my business, Kagome," Inuyasha growled, stepping closer. Kagome gasped. Was he about to…? Was he going to admit that he was worried about her? That he didn't want her to go off with another man alone?

But then Inuyasha continued, "It's my business, Kagome, because I need to know where my jewel detector is at all times. What if we caught wind of a jewel and you weren't-?"

The half-demon froze midsentence, feeling a wave of terror crash into his spine. Kagome was giving him a death-stare, one he knew all too well. He cursed under his breath.

Kagome inhaled deeply before releasing the full force of her fury. "SIT! SITSITSITSITSITSITSIT! SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT! SIT! SIT! SIT! SITSITSITSIT!"

A little way's away, Yukio flinched. That looked really, really, _really_ painful. Kagome obviously had some sort of strange power over this mutt.

Kagome stepped closer to the poor (but very dense) hanyou and, latching onto an ear, yanked his head off the ground. "You nasty, dirty hypocrite! You were gone with Kikyo all night last night, and then when I go off with _a friend _who I have no romantic attachment to _at all_-_" _and there it was again, that voice in the back of her mind that said _yet_- "and you get mad! And not even because you don't want me with another man! NO! It's because you're afraid your precious jewel detector will get lost or die or something! You insensitive jerk! SIT!"

Inuyasha involuntarily burrowed even deeper into the soil. Kagome turned to Yukio with an apologetic grimace. "I'm sorry you had to see that."

"Don't be, Lady Kagome," Yukio sneered down at Inuyasha, "He deserved it."

"WHY, YOU!" The half-demon wanted to get up, slash the guy's head off with his sword, and then feed it to Kirara, but the spell hadn't worn off yet.

Kagome turned on her heels and stalked off to the hut, and Yukio continued to smirk at him.

Well, his day definitely sucked.

**XXX**

The fire crackled softly over the light whistle of the wind. The stars were especially bright that night, scattered across the heavens in lovely little clusters. The grating hum of a cricket chirped quietly in the background.

Kagome knew that this was an excellent opportunity to catch up on some sleep. How often was Feudal Japan this peaceful? But try as she might, she just couldn't achieve slumber. Her mind was racing with the day's events, from the morning, when she was so rudely awakened by Inuyasha, to the evening, when she sat him for being…well…rude. And hypocritical and judgmental and thoughtless. And a jerk. And a angry, verbally abusive pig. And a horrible boyfriend (because she guessed that was technically what he was). And…anyways.

But despite the negative direction her thoughts were taking with Inuyasha, a small smile graced her lips. It struck her as funny that her days began and ended with Inuyasha. Funny, and right. It was supposed to be that way, wasn't it?

A movement to her left caught her attention, and she turned to see that the very subject of her ponderings had leapt down from his position in the trees and was now crouched on the ground. He stood. _Probably just going to the bathroom, _Kagome thought, stifling a yawn.

But then, to her surprise, he turned and his ocher eyes met hers.

"Kagome," he whispered, "are you awake?"

The girl nodded and sat up in her sleeping bag. "Yeah. What're you doing up?"

Inuyasha's grin made Kagome's heart flop. Not in a nervous way, not the way it did when Yukio smiled, but in a different way, in a way that felt time-worn and practiced. "I could ask you the same question. Wanna come on a walk with me?"

"Okay," Kagome agreed, standing up and skipping over to the hanyou, who in turn chuckled.

"Peppy this night?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

They ventured further into the dark, ominous forest, and Kagome felt no fear, as she knew she would have with Yukio. Inuyasha made her feel safe, protected. "Because…well. I don't really know. I guess I just…I don't know. Ha ha…" She laughed nervously. She knew exactly the reason why, but couldn't bring herself to say it.

"What?" He persisited, nudging her gently.

Well, okay, maybe she _could_ bring herself to say it, after all. "Well, okay, well…Ha ha. Um, you know, I haven't really seen you all day and I guess I'm just…happy…" Her voice faded away unsurely.

"Oh," Inuyasha said, somewhat startled. "Well, you know. I guess…same here."

"Oh." Kagome smiled, and with a sudden spurt of bravery, she grabbed hold of his clawed hand and snuggled her head onto his shoulder. "So how was your day?" She inquired.

Inuyasha hmm-ed thoughtfully.

_"So, Miroku, you're sayin' that if, starting when she gets back, I don't ever leave Kagome alone, she'll stop being stupid with the new guy and start paying more attention ta me?" _

_"Precisely, Inuyasha. The key to a woman's heart is attentiveness. Obsessive attentiveness." _

_"But, you know, what about baths and stuff?" _

_"Oh, right, Inuyasha, this is where you swallow your honor and peep on- I mean, keep a protective watch on her in case a pervert comes lurking about." _

_"Oh, so someone like you?"_

_"Ah…Anyways, do you understand?" _

_"I don't think it's a good idea…" _

_"My dear friend, who is the smarter one of the duo?" _

_"I'm guessing the answer you're looking for is you?" _

_"Of course. So, obviously, my advice is solid and should be followed to the dot." _

_"Right. But if it doesn't work, Miroku, let's just say you're going to become very familiar with an angry female octopus demon in heat." _

_"…" _

Inuyasha shook his head and decided to never, ever tell Kagome about the conversations that had been held with the monk.

The pair continued walking until they came upon a fallen log. Sitting down gently, she pulled Inuyasha next to her. "I'm sorry about today…I mean, using the s-word on you that much was unnecessary."

"It's okay," he murmured, staring out at the sky, "I'm…I guess I'm sorry, too."

Kagome raised an eyebrow. "You _guess_?"

Inuyasha's voice rose defensively. "Aw, come on, Kags! You know how hard it is for me to say these things…"

The girl laughed, the sound like tinkling bells, before she snuggled into him. "I know, I know, Inuyasha. Don't freak out."

And they sat like that, still and comfortable, silent and content. Not even Inuyasha felt the pair of eyes on their backs.

Hidden in the trees, Yukio scoffed quietly, shaking his head. Oh, no. This would not do. Not at all.

* * *

Sorry for the many grammatical errors and stuff in this chapter. Anyways, please review! I know it's not my best...buuuut...haha, I'm proud of myself because I actually got this chapter out in a reasonable amount of time! Like, not next year! :D


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